The Night After Christmas
by mangafan38
Summary: The aftermath of the movie has an affect on Jack's selfesteem. He hates himself, but Sally comes over to comfort him. Slightly fluff.


It was nighttime in Halloween Town. Just a few days ago, Jack Skellington flew in a sleigh pulled by skeletal reindeer to deliver presents to boys and girls. We all know that story. But what happened after that? Not everyone was happy after Oogie was defeated.

Jack Skellington sat by his window, brooding.

He had almost single handedly destroyed Christmas! How embarrassing. He had found out that Sally loved him, but even so...it was not an exactly happy ending. The town's people still did not know what to think, and must be wondering if they are still going to celebrate Christmas next year.

What a disaster this has been, thought Jack.

He looked down at the town. He had just tried to make everyone happy. Why should he have suffered so much for that simple reason? Everyone looked up to him before this! The Mayor was the political leader of Halloween Town, but he had always needed Jack's help. So what if he had gotten tired of the same old thing? No one else seemed to be bothered by celebrating Halloween every single year. And for the time when he was in Christmas Town, he had been happy. Colorful lights, tiny people sitting by fires, reading books, or just enjoying the moments. Why couldn't anyone in Halloween Town do that? No, everyone had to be dark and scary, frightening small children, or even adults. No one could just relax and try to not be scary.

But didn't that include him?

He thought about this. He wasn't special. It's not like he was anything better than any other Halloween Town resident. Even the Behemoth was probably scarier than he was! He shouldn't be allowed to do anything than his duty to Halloween, just like everyone else. Last year, all he did was sit in his night gown, reading Christmas tales! Jack started to get quite angry at himself. He now paced the room in long strides.

But he _was _the Pumpkin King…he was a bit more special than everyone else…and who had gotten so many awards for his scariness? He had! Who had tried with all his might to give Sandy Claws a rest? He had! Who had saved Sandy and Sally, and also single-handedly defeated Oogie Boogie? He had, he thought angrily.

He sat back down in his chair, looking at all of Halloween Town.

No…he thought, calming down. This was all his fault, and he should be responsible to clean it up.

Raaaaaawwwwhhh!

Jack got up. That was his doorbell. Probably the Mayor again, seeing if they would start making the plans for next Halloween. He sighed.

Oh well, he thought as he walked down his long, spiraling staircase. It's the least I can do.

He got to the door, and opened it up.

"Sally?" he said.

In his doorway, Sally, a beautiful rag doll with pale blue skin, stood.

"Hello Jack." She said. Her voice made Jack a little less anxious.

"Hi…" he said.

"Um, I was…just wondering, if you…you know, were feeling okay…" she asked, looking down.

"Of course!" said Jack untruthfully. "Please come in, come in…"

"Thank you, Jack."

Sally walked in.

"You know, I've never been in your house…I've only seen it from outside."

"Oh, yes…I, never realized that. Would you like to come upstairs?" Jack asked, not quite knowing how to handle this situation.

"Oh, yes, please…" said Sally, looking as if she did not quite know how to walk into someone's house.

Jack helped her onto the first step, following her up. Suddenly, she slipped, but Jack caught her.

"Sorry…"she said, "I have trouble walking on stairs."

"It's quite alright." Said Jack.

He helped her up, and they kept walking, hand in hand.

"So…um, what have you been doing these past few days?" asked Jack.

"I've been trying to do some sewing…but it hasn't turned out very well."

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it, Sally." Jack said reassuringly.

She blushed, but looked away.

"Thank you…"

They walked the rest of the stairs in silence. Finally, as they reached Jack's room, Sally plucked up the courage to speak.

"Jack, I came over here to see if you were alright…you've been locked away up here for two days." She said.

"Oh, I'm fine…" he said.

"You don't sound fine." She replied.

Jack sighed.

"Well…I have been feeling slightly down."

He led Sally over to a couch in the library, where they both could sit.

"I almost destroyed Christmas, Sally."

"But Jack! You were only trying to do something different! I knew how you felt, that something was missing, but you never did anything wrong."

"I was foolish for even trying to make my own Christmas in the first place."

"No you weren't, Jack. The town's people seemed to like it."

"Yes, but in the end, we only made a Halloween version of Christmas. Think of all the children who were frightened out of their wits on Christmas morning because I delivered scary toys!"

"You mustn't blame yourself, Jack. The Halloween Town citizens don't know anything apart _from_ being frightening."

"I suppose…" said Jack.

"I think you should take your mind off it, Jack. What's done is done, and nothing we can do will change that."

Jack looked up.

"You know Sally, you're right. I have no reason to sulk. Would you like something to drink?" he said, much more warmly than before.

"Yes, please." Said Sally, smiling. She had done what she needed to do.

The two talked for hours, getting to know each other much better, and finding out they had much more in common. And after a while, Jack found that Sally had fallen asleep, her head on his lap. And before too long, Jack dosed off as well.

The End.

How did you like it? Please go easy on me, it's my first fan fic.


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